An UGLY Proposal

Before I tell you about the proposal, there is a little bit of giraffe history to share, so put your feet up, relax, and lets hop in the (hot tub) time machine.

To understand Mr. Giraffe and I, you have to understand a certain someone else. A certain Uglydoll that is, an uglydoll named Babo (source).
You see, I bought Babo for Mr. Giraffe as a gift for Valentine's Day freshman year of college. He thought it was kind of funny, and kind of laughed it off. Now all Uglydolls come with cards that descirbe them, and I told Mr. Giraffe that I had bought him Babo because although he is not the smartest Ugly around, for what he lacks in brain power he makes up for in love. What a perfect Valentine's gift, right? I know!

I love(d) that Babo and Mr. Giraffe had grown to do the same. A little while later he surprised me with my favorite Ugly, Wage, (Babo's best friend who works at Super Mart even though Super Mart doesn't know he works there) and a Little Babo (image source).

I'm going to be honest here, I'm kind of obsessed with Uglydolls. They kind of became "our thing" and sense then, Mr. Giraffe gets me an Uglydoll for every holiday/birthday/awesome surprise day/etc. It's become a full blown obsession, for realises.

My personal Ugly collection. The dark purple one in the front and the little bit of the hot pink one behind it? They're the first married Uglydolls! Hoorah! Try and count the 6 different Wages!

In fact, before I became Miss Giraffe, my weddingbee icon was a Wage. I couldn't help myself! See, he's adorable! (Icon downloaded from the old Uglydoll site)
In one of those quirky little things that couples do, Babo became quite the fun part of our relationship. I started sending goofy photos of the Uglydoll to Mr. Giraffe while he was at work, and Mr. Giraffe set him up in silly situations while I was in class.

Long story short, we have an warm, ugly place in our hearts for that stuffed animal thing.

So, in Mr. Giraffe's mind, it only made sense that this quirky part of our relationship, become part of his proposal.

That's the back story, now here's the rest.

I knew a proposal was coming, partly because I hate surprises and Mr. Giraffe knows this, and partly because I thought I had him all figured out.

My senior year of college, the two of us shared an apartment with 2 other room mates. The four of us were planning a cabin/camping trip for an upcoming weekend with a few other friends, and I knew Mr. Giraffe was going to propose that weekend. I mean, it'd be perfect, right? Out of town for the weekend and all?

Well, I came home Thursday at 12:00 from my internship as per usual, and had an hour until my screen printing class. Typically I'd change out of my work clothes, eat lunch, and then leave to walk to campus.

But October 23rd was different. I heard Mr. Giraffe call me into his room, and as soon as I walked in, I knew something was up. I mean, his room was clean, that was really suspicious. His bed was made, and Babo was siitting on top of it with a note that said "Miss Giraffe." Mr. Giraffe told me to read it (after mentioning that Babo learned to write), and I did just that.

It looked something like this:

Will you marry Mr. Giraffe?
Check one:
(Check box) Yes
(Check box) Yes

I look up from the note, all smiles, and turn around to see Mr. Giraffe behind me, on one knee, hold a ring.

After a moment, Mr. Giraffe says "Well?"

And, in a totally mature and well behaved moment, I responded, "You're not giving me a lot of options!"

. . . Mr. Giraffe has never let me forget that moment, and I admit, it probably wasn't the right response. I mean, both boxes said the same thing. What was I supposed to day?

So that's how it happened, at a small college apartment, just me, Mr. Giraffe, and Babo the Uglydoll. And you know what, hive? I wouldn't have had it any other way. I look back, and I cannot picture a more perfect proposal. It was a nice goofy, sentimental moment, and I love sharing the story. It's just so "us."

What about you hive, any quirky proposals? Or any other Ugly proposals?

A big Hello to the Hive from up here!

Note: I've been accepted (yay!) as a blogger on the Weddingbee site. From now on, I'm taking up the name Miss Giraffe, and TB will now be Mr. Giraffe. Rock star super awesome!

Get it? Up here? Because giraffes are tall, even though I'm short? Hehe.

Anyway! Can you beelieve it? Beecause I sure can't! Oh man! I don't even know where to start. I'm so just beexcited (okay, I'll admit it, that one didn't work)!

I got the email from Pengy today, but due to there being only 5 minutes left on my lunch hour, I couldn't even figure out what to do with myself. I sent a quick text to Mr. Giraffe and BM Marie and got back to work for one of my most unproductive afternoons ever due to being distracted. Oh boy.

Let me tell you a little bit about the Giraffes.

Mr. Giraffe and I met a week before school started our freshman year of college at Illinois State, when we were just 18. It was love at first sight for this art major to that music major. In my dorm, a group of us from the art floor (floor 12) invited some kid playing guitar on the music floor (floor 11) to come up and play for us. He played guitar and sang for three hours and I was captivated instantly. I sat there watching him and knew that night that I had met the guy I was going to marry.

The night we met. Mr. Giraffe being his cool self, and me being my usual ridiculous self.

Two days later he kissed me.

A few days before classes began (and 4 days after we met), Mr. Giraffe joined my team for the campus dodge ball tournament. His hand got stepped on and I ended up with him in the ER. I had just met this kid, and I was on the phone with his parents at 2am trying to get insurance information.

Long story short, Mr. Giraffe, majoring in guitar, started off college with two pins in his thumb.

That and in the ER, he looked at me and asked why I had just told his parents that we were 'friends'. Yes, it took us four days to be 'exclusive', and we've been together ever since.

Here we are freshman year of college.

And here we are hanging out. Just kidding! (image source)

Since then, we've had an amazing ride! After being together 5 years we cannot wait to tie the knot! I'm here to represent the long engagement brides as Mr. Giraffe and I have been engaged for about 2 years all ready and still have another 7.5 months to go!

We're planning a 175 person traditional wedding, but with all our DIY goodness and my innate ability to hip and cool and pop and fresh, we're putting a modern spin on it. There are plenty of details to share, and to put a cherry on the top, a realllllly close friend of mine (the amazing BM Maire) is getting married a few short months after me, so you'll get to hear all my tales of being a bridesmaid as well.

Here we are a year ago at FBIL Ian's wedding . . . but something doesn't look right. Maybe I should fix it?

Why the Giraffes? Well, I couldn't really resist! The icon is so cute! And it just seemed perfect for me. I mean, I talk big, but I'm really just semi - awkward girl with my head in the clouds. And aside from those giraffe having their heads up pretty high, they do seem like awkward dudes, I mean with all those limbs, vertebrae, giant tongues, and such.

The Giraffes, sweaty and gross, this past 4th of July.

Hive, I'm happy to meet you and I cannot wait to share the beetails (yes, I did it again) of my big day!

Looks Good Enough to Eat . . . ?

Now, don't get me wrong here people, I like eating as much as the next person. I mean, honestly, I do it everyday; multiple times a day even.

And, as a guest at a wedding, I do realize that traveling to see a wedding and partying it up, can make for quite the appetite. I know that many folks have dessert or cocktail receptions nowadays, but some (like Mr. Giraffe & I) still have sit down reception dinners. This is all very common, people, don't be surprised.

I mean, there's usually a dinner, and my favorite part, a cake (image source).
And being the totally considerate and helpful guest I often am, I always eat the cake. I mean, its my duty as a wedding guest, honestly.

And dessert tables? Well, Mr. G and I are having one of those for sure (more on that later, though) (image source).
So I'm all about eating dessert for sure. Nope, no gripes about it at all And at a wedding? Why not! Bring on the cake!

But the menus? No, I'm not talking about reading the menu to see what tasty treats are in store. I'm talking about what menus I saw via an email link from the Knot.
No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you, and yes, that is what you think it is . . . If you're thinking its an edible menu (also image source)!! What in the world?! I know, I know, it's a crazy idea.

I mean, sure its kind of neat, but I'm guessing this bride didn't think about what would happen when her ravenous guests start chomping down on those menus while waiting for their plates. If they've all ready eaten the menu, how will they ever know what showing up for the next course?! Clearly, this could turn the whole reception into chaos. That is definitely a risk I'm not willing to take, but its still an interesting idea.

I'm actually not entirely sure this has ever been done before; I'm wait for the wedding police to either confirm or deny this rumor.

Has anybody ever had/seen/eaten an edible menu??

STD Inspiration

I spent this weekend with BM Marie and GM Mike pretending to be a good bridesmaid ;-). Their photo package gives them an in studio E Session and Mar really wanted outside photos so I played photographer and we got some really great shots (I think). Don't worry, Mr. Giraffe was there too because I kind of dragged him along hehe. I don't think he minded.

We wanted to do the photos asap so that we'd have a photo for their STDs, which we want to get done soon because they're getting married on a holiday weekend meaning we've gotta send those suckers out soon!

That morning, I sent Marie* and Mike some STDs I thought they'd like to get them inspired!

I apologize in advance - I wasn't thinking about blogging for these so I don't have the sources listed, but I know a lot came from minted and Wedding Paper Divas.

Here's their inspiration! (Semi - Related side note: Mr. G and I have decided on a 'big photo' STD, if you were wondering, which I'm sure you were.)

Anybody else getting excited about STDs?

*Yes, I'm aware that I spelled Marie's name wrong here on those photos. . . not quite sure how I managed that one. I'd change it, but I saved them to Mr. G's computer on instead of mine so I can't change them right now. Oh well, you the point. :)

Plus one!

TB and I have no gripes about plus one situations. We're guaranteeing so much money to our reception venue, and it looks like most everyone will get plus ones to help us reach our numbers.

I understand, though, how tough plus one situations can be for brides. Every person is that much more money, and of course, you don't want to put a value on people, but c'mon, is that guy you don't really know who is the date of some relative you equally don't know worth another $40-$70? Yup, I didn't think so.

Anyway, I'm sure it's a stressful situation for all kinds of brides to be, but I saw this on a How I Met Your Mother rerun last night and died laughing. I just hope it isn't this stressful! ;-) Enjoy!

What to get...

For the couple that all ready has everything?

No, this post isn't about Mr. G and I, because we really have nothing, (and its too early for us to register) but I'm sure some couples do have everything! (Well, that and I feel like a goofy ridiculous non-serious post).

For the couple that all ready has all the towels, bed linens, and flatware they could want, here are my suggestions for their gift table. In fact, I've bet they've added them to their wish list months ago.

For the eco conscious couple trying to cut out the needless use of resources, how about a green gift? Like a Horsey Bike for their trip to work?
And maybe a furry message board? I mean, newlyweds love writing love notes, right?
Or maybe, a new cutting board for their new kitchen? I mean cutting boards are typically on registries, for sure . . . well, maybe not cutting boards designed to look like a MacBook Pro ;-).


What about the couple that travels together? Maybe a way to brighten up their future road trips? In that case, Car Lashes are definitely in order!
I'm sure that being newly married means you really can't get enough of each other, in rain or shine! This umbrella (ella ella) will surely keep them cozy!

More importantly, every couple needs to furnish their new digs! Newlyweds totally need furniture . . . like sofas. . . or sofas made of cement for their backyard.
After all those meals together as a couple discussing married life, surely a new couple will need something to make dishes fun?
How about that for some good gifts? Secretly, I would legitimately love to own a Horsey Bike. Would any one else secretly love a ridiculous gift?

Time to Get Serious

About STDs. (Because, of course STDs are no laughing matter hehe - I mean, really, who came up with that acronym?). And, by STDs, I mean Save the Dates, of course.

My wedding books, websites, newsletters, and checklists are all telling me it's about that time to start thinking about STDs (hehehe - the novelty hasn't wore off yet). According to the wedding police, we're supposed to send our STDs 6 - 8 months from W day. We're 7.5 months out now, but seeing as we've passed on the news about our wedding to my out of town relatives via word of mouth, we're leaning toward the 6 month mark. (Oh sidebar: Its totally unbelievable/freaky that there is even a 6 months moment on the horizon.)

As to avoid our STDs getting mixed in/lost in between Christmas & holiday cards, we're planning to send 'em out in November. That really isn't very far away folks, so it's time to get serious.

Confession: looking for STD inspiration is completely overwhelming.

I'm a graphic designer for a living, so I feel like I'm under so much pressure with our wedding stationery. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled about designing everything, and I definitely could not picture anyone else creating something this important besides myself, but. . . But I feel like there's all this pressure on me to deliver with our Save the Dates (mail pun totally intentional).

I guess the best way I can describe it, because not everyone understands graphic design, is if you were a pastry chef and were baking your own wedding cake. No one would push you to do it, but you'd want to do it yourself, because, simply, its what you do. You'd want a cake you'd be proud of on display for your guests, not to mention the co-workers who are also bakers, and your baker friends. . . Your friends who are pretty arrogant about their work (I think this is a pretty common trait among designers, this wasn't a hit towards chefs, I promise,).

It's kind of overwhelming, for sure. On top of this, the real problem is that I cannot decide what I want our STDs should look like. I have a million and one ideas in my head, but its so hard because I want something modern, but that makes the day look less formal; and I want something hip, but too hip wouldn't be well received by our older guests; I want to use Helvetica, but Mr. Giraffe wants a more formal look. It's super hard to find a balance and to pull myself back in on this.

So what am I doing to avoid freaking out on this? Same thing I'd do for any other tough design assignment: research! I've been looking for some super hip and pop and fresh, modern style STDs for inspiration. The only 'requirement' I kind of had is that we 100%, for sure, want to do a photo STD so I was on the look for that.

Here's the goods!

I love the back of this one from Red Stamp (image source also here).
I absolutely love this one (image source also here). I love how colors and shapes are use to break it apart and keep the emphasis on the photo of the couple.
What I really enjoy about this STD (image source also here) is the full photo that bleeds of the card. It looks really swank to have such a large photo with a rock star label on top.
How 'bout another (image source also here)? Okay! This simplicity of this one just emphasizes that lovely photo, and I love how the cropping of it makes it look so panoramic. It just looks like a rock star STD, for realsies. Also, the generous letter spacing on the type just gives it so much character.
That last one was from minted.com. Has anyone ever seen Minted.com? It has some amazing designs! How amazing? Well, here look at this save the date montage! (all photos from minted.com).









Annnnnnnnd end montage! I know, gorgeous, right?

I'm not sure when I'm doing with our Save the Dates yet, and all this inspiration kind of makes it a little more difficult because it adds to my inability to decide on anything. Regardless, feel free to scroll back up and drool over those babies a little bit longer?

Anybody else gettin' serious about their STD inspiration?

Gettin' Geeky: Save the Dates

Okay, remember all those Mario wedding cakes we all ready looked at? And the LBP cake toppers? Of course you do. I think It's been made pretty clear that Mr. Giraffe have quite the geek side. It's really no secret, I mean he's pretty open with his love for video games and my obsession with comic books isn't exactly a secret.I couldn't find a photo of TB looking geeky. But here's (an older photo of) Mr. G & I. I'm in one of my favorite shirts. I have more photos of me acting like Spider-man, but I couldn't find them.

If weddings can have a geeky (but oh so endearing) cake or cake topper. . . why can't said endearing geekiness translate into other aspects of the wedding? I don't know why I never thought of that before, but even though we're not working these into our more traditional wedding, they're just awesome. (Image sources all come from the original site links, listed near image).

The idea of geeky Save the Dates first occurred to me when I saw this STD (image from same source) on Projectwedding.com.
Oh man. I honestly love it. I mean, it really is kind of adorable. I haven't quite figure out why only 2 and a half hearts are full, I mean, you'd think all 3 would be full because of lovey dovey wedding goodness, but that novelty is so perfect that I can't complain!

Here's another one (image from same source). Mr. G & I never got into/played Magic cards, but I'm sure for a couple that does, a STD magnet that looks like a card from the game would be super fun.
And this one (image from same source) is from a video game website. (Follow the link for an equally geeky and adorable proposal story). For all you Wii lovers, how great is it that the STDs feature their Miis? (Lots of rhyming there haha). That would be cute for Mr. G and I, except that he teases me about being short (which I'm really not) so he made my Mii the shortest possible and it looks so silly next to his taller Mii.
This one (image from same source) is a little more nerdy than geeky (if there's really a difference. C'mon people, is there?). I have a friend who is a math teacher and totally math nerd, and its too bad he's all ready married, because he totally would have done something like this.
And I love this one (image from same source)! Although Mr & Mrs. Pack Man have all ready been married for like 30 years, I'm sure they looked something like this for their big day? (Do you think Pinky, Inky, Blinky, & Clyde were invited?)

Here's another Mii STD (image from same source) that I found on the Weddingbee website.
I'm not sure if this is exactly geeky or not, but its not the plain jane either. I absolutely love love love sock monkeys, so I just about died when I found this sucker (iamge from same source) on etsy.

And I saved my personal favorite for last (image from same source). I never knew geekiness could look so chic ;-).
Okay, one more (image from same source). I don't think a Save the Date has ever made me so happy. My geekiness stems from my obsession with Marvel comics. Now, I love Spidey as much as the next girl, but the X-Men really have my heart, specially Remy LeBeau. I adore the super tragic yet super amazing 'love' story between Remy and Rogue, who really do love each other, for realsies, this STD just warms my little geek heart. (Oh and for the record, I have finally forgiven Rogue for that whole bit in Antarctica, and I think that whole Massacre was blown way out of proportion. I know its been a while but I feel the need to share my two cents.)
Oh! And apparently, there's been quite a few geeky wedding invites, too, but that's a story for another post ;-).

Anybody gettin' geeky with their STDs? I would love to see them!

A Junior What?

There are a lot of "junior things." For instance, there's Junior Mints . (image source)

There's junior/senior prom, of which bridesmaid Mang and I attended. Here's our senior year (our dates not pictured because I've repressed all memories of them):
There's this Junior, of course. (photo via imdb):
And what about Face from Nick Jr? Anybody remember him? (image source)

But a junior bridesmaid? Does that just men a very small bridesmaid? I mean, Bridesmaid Mang is very short . . .

According to Love to Know, a junior bridesmaid is,
"The role of a junior bridesmaid is perfect for a girl who isn't quite old enough to be a bridesmaid, but she is too old to be a flower girl. A junior bridesmaid's role offers those in-betweens the opportunity to participate in the wedding and be an important part of the bridal party."
Okay, that's helpful. Love to Know also goes on to list the responsibilities of the junior girl (visit the website for a longer explanation.)

• Purchase a Dress - aka have mom and dad buy it
• Attending the Rehearsal
• Participate in the Processional - will go down the aisle, doesn't need an escort
• During the Ceremony - stand up with Team Wedding
• Receiving Line- not part of the line if not part of the family
• During the Reception - hand out things
  
• Attending a Shower- doesn't plan, but welcome to attend
• Attending a Bachelorette Party - um, if appropriate

So what does this have to do with us? Well, we're having a Junior in Team Wedding. After asking 4 of 5 of Mr. G's siblings to be in our wedding, it didn't seem right to leave out FSIL LB just because she wasn't quite old enough to be on the Team. This way all of the Mr. Giraffe sibs get to be part of our day.

FSIL LB, me, & TB circa 2007

Even thought I'm not quite sure about BM dresses yet, I'm all ready thinking about our JBM dress. It's really important to me that LB is dressed 'age appropriate.' I mean, sure, she'll be standing with a group of 20 somethings, but she'll just turn 13 before W day. Mr. G and I don't want anything too short or low cut. I also read online (and everything the internet says is true) that its not appropriate for a JBM to wear a strapless dress.

On the other hand, LB will be a teenager and I don't want her looking 'too young.' I don't think she'd feel special if she didn't get to look 'fancy' like her older sister and FSIL. (Sidebar: she all ready calls me her sister. How sweet, right? . . or at least she has me down as sister on her Facebook page. Same difference).

Believe it or not, it's been really hard to find a dress that's not too young or old.
Uhhhh, sorry House of Brides, but even though you're telling me that that's a JBM dress, I don't quite think it is.

This dress, on the other hand, was also marked a JBM dress, but its too young.
So where does that leave us? I had no clue. Once I find some dresses that are worth considering, I'll share them with you guys for sure.

You want to know the real trouble though?
Differentiating LB from the rest of the Team. I want her to look like a JBM, not a BM (which is why she's not wearing a dress for a 25 year old). The problem is that I asked LB to be in the wedding when she was 11. She's 12 now and has recently hit her growth spurt and is shooting up like a weed. She's now taller than 2 BMs, the same height as 1, and only 2" shorter than me. Oh man! It's so hilarious, it seriously cracks me up.

Anyone else figure out how to dress a junior bridesmaid? Or is it really just kind of impossible?